Golden Pass LNG LLC awarded a $1 billion lump-sum turnkey contract to Chicago Bridge & Iron Co. (CB&I) for construction of the 2 Bcf/d Golden Pass liquefied natural gas (LNG) import facility near Sabine Pass, TX. The terminal, which will deliver regasified LNG to an ExxonMobil refinery and to the U.S. gas pipeline grid, is expected to be completed in 2009 when it will begin receiving LNG from Qatar.

CB&I has complete responsibility for the project, which will have an import capacity to process 15.6 million tons per year of LNG. The terminal includes two ship unloading berths, five full-containment LNG storage tanks, each with a capacity of 155,000 cubic meters, a regasification and sendout system, and related ancillary facilities. Initial engineering, procurement and site preparation activities are under way. The project also will include a separate 75-mile pipeline system to Starks, LA, and a lateral to ExxonMobil’s Beaumont, TX, refinery.

Golden Pass LNG LLC, the owner of the Golden Pass LNG terminal, is expected to be 70% owned by an affiliate of Qatar Petroleum, with affiliates of ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips each owning a share in the balance of the interest in the terminal. It is also expected that LNG for the Golden Pass terminal will be supplied primarily from the Ras Laffan 3 and the Qatargas 3 projects in Qatar, which will produce and process natural gas from Qatar’s offshore North Field.

“The progression of the Golden Pass LNG terminal is a major achievement that is designed to provide the United States an important additional source of natural gas from Qatar,” said Saad Sherida Al Kaabi, a Qatar Petroleum representative.

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